What's new at CTDU?
April 2006!

Equality Matters project and first Learning Network event

Global Citizen and Garden Programme for Spring 2006

London Calling!! CTDU students off to London

Participatory Action Research

Participatory Video Training for Trainers

Management committee meetings

Disability Awareness Group training

Bothkennar garden development

CTDU - local volunteer award winners

Equality Matters project
'Equality Matters' is funded by the Falkirk Community Planning Partnership and the project training and development worker is Fiona McKeown. CTDU's Equality Matters project aims to encourage and enable more people from marginalised communities to be involved in community organising and campaigning. It is designed to help communities develop their own voice to participate effectively in community planning. Learning Network event on 28th March 2006 Supporting community involvement in regeneration Our first 'Learning Network' event was held on - Tuesday, 28th March 2006, from 11.15 a.m. to 2.15 p.m. in the Forth Valley Sensory Centre, Redbrae Road, Camelon, Falkirk
The purpose of CTDU's Learning Network is -
Equality Matters is funded by		to support and encourage people who are active in community groups in Falkirk's Community Regeneration areas
		to enable communities to network, work together and strengthen their voice.
		to create a forum for learning, exchanging information and ideas
Network meetings are designed to be sociable gatherings where you can make new friends as well as get information and ideas that will help your community.
The programme for the first event includes: an opportunity for community members to talk about what they have been doing; an opportunity for other agencies to pass on useful information to community groups; lunch and a chance to chat and get to know one another; and a presentation by the Birds of Paradise Theatre Company on using drama to involve your community in debate! To download an invitation click here. Please let us know if you plan to come.
For more information about our Equality Matters project, see Equality Matters on our projects page, download our Equality Matters leaflet, or contact Fiona or Rosemary at CTDU 01324 832040 or email Fiona or Rosemary ('Voices' Menu)
Global Citizen and Garden Programme for Spring 2006 CTDU students met to discuss and agree the programme for Spring 2006 on 28th February.
Spring 2006 Garden Programme Mosaic work with Tansy Lee Moir Monday, 6 March 2006 - 10 am to 3 pm Wednesday, 15 March 2006 - 10 am to 3 pm Thursday, 23 March 2006 - 10 am to 3 pm Wednesday, 29 March 2006 - 10 am to 3 pm		Students planning the garden mosaic
Garden work and BBQ In the morning students will do some planting and weeding and general maintenance on the willowwork windbreak, and we'll Friday, 2 June 2006 - 10 am to 3 pm		Looking good! Work in progress
Global Citizen Programme Thursday, 6 April 2006 - 10 am to 3 pm Thursday, 20 April 2006 - 10 am to 3 pm Wednesday, 3 May 2006 - 10 am to 3 pm Wednesday, 17 May 2006 - 10 am to 3 pm		Tansy's original artwork that inspired the mosaic design
London calling! Two of our students were recently invited by the Poverty Alliance to go to London.
Recently CTDU students participated at the Glasgow 'Get Heard' event organised by the Poverty Alliance. Our students also presented their G8 banner which they had made after the educational programme about the Following on from the Glasgow 'Get Heard' we were invited to particpate at a 'Get Heard' event in London. on 31st January. This event was organised to bring people experiencing poverty and social exclusion into the government's debate about tackling poverty. It was attended by Margaret Hodge MP, the Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform (Dept. for Work and Social Pensions) and a number of officials from the Dept. for Education and Skills and Dept for Work and Pensions and people from grassroots communities. The Scottish contingent of 6 participants (including our Ann, accompanied by Fiona) flew down very early in the morning and flew back late afternoon. The event is part of a consultation by the UK Government, and the input of the participants will assist the the government to produce a National Action Plan on social exclusion, which will outline the key problems and approaches to tackling povery and social exclusion. (Not to be outdone) Lorraine participated at a conference in London on 7th February Lorraine went looking at people who work and are still living in poverty. The event was attended by UK Government officials who collected evidence to take back to Ministers to bring about change in legislation.		Students talking about the G8
		In the pink ... Ann
		Cathy, Lorraine and Jim
Participatory Action Research CTDU members with a history of mental health problems have funding to progress their Participatory Action Research project. The group worked with research mentor Joette Thomas to design, research and prepare the application for funding and were successful in an application to progress the Participatory Action Research project. The group have put together their own drama which was performed for the first time at CTDU's AGM in November. The drama tells the story of 'Amy' and her experience of the new home intensive treatment team service offered to people in the Forth Valley who have mental health problems. The group are in the process of setting up dates to take the drama 'on the road' to collect the views of mental health service users. The main questions the group would like to consider are:
How can professionals (GPs, CPNs, nurses, psychiatrists, volunteers etc) support us better? What helps us to support ourselves? At the end of the project the group plan to have a conference and invite many policy makers and mental health professionals, to share the findings of their research and to discuss the actions that need to be taken to improve services.		click to enlarge photo
If your group would like to be involved with the research, please email Fiona or telephone her on 01324 832040 The aim of the work is to create awareness of the needs of people with mental health problems, so that their experiences can be considered in policy making, to improve services at a local level and build working relationships with local services.

Participatory Video empowers individuals and communities to use film in order to share ideas and experiences.

With simple techniques and in a short time, people and communities can be trained in basic film-making skills to identify and analyse important issues in their community and/or personal life.

Replaying and editing their experiences opens up safe and structured spaces for people to explore these issues.

Finally, screening finished works creates space for voices to be heard of people and communities that have previously been misunderstood or ignored.

During 2005 students took part in a short course to train in the use of filmmaking equipment and then learn methods and techniques for training others, particularly people in marginalised communities. At the end of this training students:

• gained basic filmmaking skills
  
  
• learned the use of PV techniques to train others to use film
  
  
• made a short film using these techniques
  
  
• met many like-minded people committed to working with these methods on projects

PV project in Grangemouth:

Students have used their new skills to join in with a PV project with communities living around the Grangemouth industrial complex. The project used PV methods to enable community members to explore their experience of living with the local pollution from the Grangemouth facilities. The project began with the screening of video letters from a Brazilian community where the pollution from the Grangemouth plants are theoretically being 'soaked up' by planting trees there. However the planting of trees in the Brazilian community is in the form of huge monoculture eucalyptus plantations that are devastating local people's health and livelihoods. Therefore the two communities, separated by distance, language and culture are inextricably linked by global industrial pollution. The Grangemouth participants have created their own video letters in response the Brazilian films. Both films had their first public screening in January 2006 at Falkirk Town Hall. Around 40 people attended the viewing and participated in a discussion about the films afterwards.

Contacts:

Forth Valley co-organisers:

Fiona McKeown - email Fiona or telephone Fiona at CTDU on 01324 832040

Norman Philip - email Norman from the Living within the Glow project

Trainers: Heidi Bachram at heidi@tni.org or telephone on 01865 240644

The course is run by Heidi Bachram and Ell Southern from the Participatory Action Centre, based in Oxford and co-organised by the Community Training and Development Unit (CTDU).

NEW!! download Guide to Video Letters - it's in Adobe Acrobat Reader format. (Click on Acrobat Reader format if you don't have that free programme installed on your computer already.)

A big THANK YOU to Norman for creating this great document.

Read people's reactions to the Video Screening in Falkirk 19th January 2006 - download report here.

CTDU's Board of Directors

The next meeting of CTDU's board of directors will be held at Bothkennar Centre for Citizen Education on Wednesday, 29th March at 5.30 p.m.

Disability Awareness Group - Training

The Disability Awareness Group (DAG) recently led a training session attended by 35 people where they showed the 'Wheelchair Challenge' video and led some practical exercises. Download a full report of the event (Acrobat Reader format) including the case studies and the discussions of the groups by clicking on the link below.

Contact Fiona if you'd like more information.

If you already have Adobe's Acrobat Reader on your computer you can just click the link below to get the report

Click here to download report

But you'll need to download Adobe's Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website if you aren't able to open the report. Just click on the link below.

Click here to download Acrobat Reader

We are very fortunate to be based in the beautiful setting of the RSPB Bothkennar reserve, a peaceful and interesting environment for our members to learn from and enjoy. RSPB are particularly interested in protecting the coastline and birds whose numbers have been falling rapidly. Tree sparrows and yellow hammers frequent our newly developed garden, and grey partridges and skylarks inhabit the fields behind the centre. Many other birds can be seen, particularly in autumn and winter.

With funding from Falkirk Enterprise Trust, Forth Valley Food Links, B.P. Grangemouth and the Co-op, our students have created raised beds with plants which attract wildlife, and added a bird table, feeders and a bath. In March 2005 students also built a willow windbreaker, drystane dykes, and a beach scene with gravel, slate, sand and a boat! Students are delighted that we have won a Newcomer Garden award in a competition organised by Falkirk Council community services and supported by the new Torwood Garden Centre! Well done everyone who's been involved in the garden project.

Painting the planters

CVS Falkirk and District Volunteer Awards 2005

CTDU - runner up prize for 'Volunteer Engaging Organisation of the year 2005.

Benefits to our students from CTDU training: Students are more confident, and are able to put their skills and knowledge to use benefiting both CTDU and the communities they are involved with. For example, CTDU students have become involved in committee work, taken on office bearer roles, studied for an HNC in Community Work, taken up a role on the Care Commission committee, and led workshops on topics such as banner making and disability issues.

We are also delighted that our volunteer Finlay Currie won the Volunteer of the Year 2005 award.

Our organisation works with a wide range of people from different communities of interest - mental health groups, people with a learning disabilities, disabled people, people living in social exclusion.

Finlay has grasped the opportunity to be involved in the committee work and physical tasks and goes about his voluntary work with a sensitive and positive attitude towards a very mixed community.

Finlay's countless hours of work has saved CTDU a lot of money, which means money can go towards our programmes for our members.

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